How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West...

Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...

Foster's Rule? Allopatric speciation? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation, class members use Venn diagrams to compare endemic species on the Channel Islands with mainland related species. They then create a...

For this rotation of the Earth worksheet, students read a 2-page review of the rotation of the earth and respond to 10 short answer questions.

Students locate the Trade Winds, Westerlies and Polar Easterlies on a map, explain the impact of the rotation of the Earth, and plot a route for a round trip voyage from New York to London.

How do scientists provide evidence to support the theories they put forth? What clues do they put together to create these theories? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation class members engage in a series of...

An ambitious and engaging lesson on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...

Young orators demonstrate what they have learned about persuasion and persuasive devices throughout the unit by analyzing a persuasive speech and then crafting their persuasive essays. Class members engage in a role-play exercise, use...

If used as an independent review, this presentation could be a quick way for students to study U.S. History facts. Since it only presents a few simple facts, it would not be adequate for a comprehensive review, but a teacher could...

Students explore the patterns of day and night. In this geography skills lesson, students read brief selections and examine diagrams that note the transition of day and night around the world. Students respond to the questions included...

Students explore the seasons and their attributes. In this geography lesson, students create a 3-D model of the Earth that showcases the elliptical travel of the Earth that causes seasons.

Students use their senses to investigate the changes in the seasons. They discuss how the Earth moves around the sun and its tilt. They practice using new vocabulary and examining the different seasons.

Students understand that the rotation of the Earth is responsible for the seasons. In this seasonal cycles lesson, students learn how the rotation of the Earth affects the seasons. Students answer questions about the rotation, the...

Students explore the events that occurred during the Dust Bowl and differentiate between the good and bad agricultural practices.  In this Dust Bowl lesson plan students participate in activities that shows them how to be good...

In this geography skills instructional activity, students watch the National Geographic video "Amazing Planet." Students then respond to 13 short answer questions about the content of the video.

Students explore the concept of daylight. In this daylight instructional activity, students compare the amount of daylight on a particular day in Anchorage compared with daylight where they live. Students color maps of the US according...

Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. For this finding North lesson, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They examine...

Students identify the different time zones by plotting the migration patterns of the leatherback sea turtles. They discover that traveling around the worlds includes passage through different time zones.

Learners explore cycles in nature. In this cross curriculum agriculture lesson, students define "cycle" and research weather and planting folklore. Learners make a bracelet in which individual colored beads represent the many "cycles" of...

Young scholars explore the use of sundials. They observe the shadows cast by the sun and record the times at various points throughout the day. They create sundials and record the location of the shadows and the time of day. They view...

Students complete experiments as they act as the earth. They observe how different angles affect the phases of the moon seen by us. They discuss the differences in light and dark.

Students examine weather maps from their state from the past few days. They examine the Highs and Lows on the maps to determine what kind of weather they produce. They use that information to better prepare for their activities and what...

Students examine the elevation of the sun to discover the changes in seasons. They observe and measure the length of their shadow. They compare this measurement to one taken four months later.

High schoolers examine how people end up working in any capacity on Parliament Hill. The day to day focus is on the MPs, but students see that the Hill is essentially a small city that requires a small army to keep operating.